[mtfeeney = Baron]

Ok, so in today's example, we'll say an AI is in a drone.  That drone is his home node.  He obviously wants that to be the hub of his PAN.  All of the gear on the drone is skinlinked(the drone has mimic, giving it skin).  The commlink and everything else is slaved to the drone's node.  Now, if there are other drones that are slaved to this PAN, they're slaved to the home-node drone.  As that drone is skinlinked, are the other drones' signals passed through the skinlinked commlink that has its wireless enabled?  Is this better than/worse than/the same as slaving it directly to the main drone and getting rid of skinlink?  Did I miss a superior alternative?

[Novocrane]

It sounds essentially the same, but more expensive. I'd look at Proxy Servers (Unwired, 104) instead. This also mitigates issues with AIs and access IDs. Just make sure the proxy server sends logs back to the AI, rather than keeping them itself, and use a Spoof Chip on it.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

I think I didn't say it clearly.  I want to make an AI rigger.  I want to make my system as secure as possible.  I would skinlink the stuff on my main drone(an otomo or nodeshiko or whatever) so there's no wireless traffic to detect/intercept.  He would have a commlink, if for no other reason than as a decoy.  The remote drones should be slaved to the main drone, since it's the hub of the PAN.  I would prefer to keep the main drone's wireless turned off so as to be more stealthy about being a drone. 

If I skinlink the commlink and IT has wireless enabled, it'd look like a normal rigger with a commlink controlling shit, right?  But to hack the system, they only have the 3 normal options.  Hack the master(which is the skinlinked drone, so they'd have to be touching it), hack the slave drone(requires physically connecting to it), or spoofing the master access ID(capture wireless traffic action, then a hacking+spoof-6 vs the drone's pilot+firewall(+4 if it's alerted)).  Unlike a normal rigger where the commlink would be the master and hackers would want to hack into it, the commlink of the ai rigger would actually be mostly hack-proof.  On top of that, the AI's home node would be unhackable normally(it doesn't broadcast a wireless signal, so they'd either have to touch me or get one of those wifi repeater nanites on me).  Right? 

As for hacking into the main drone, could a hacker spoof their way into the commlink, spoof to create an admin account, then somehow hack their way from there into the drone?  I'm not clear on this part, the Matrix is so damn complicated.  I don't see how a proxy server would help at all in this situation, that's more for people that do hacking.  My AI wouldn't be doing much travel outside of his home node.

[Novocrane]

Hack the master(which is the skinlinked drone, so they'd have to be touching it)

Here's your problem. Any connection attempt to the slaved commlink is forwarded to the master, direct through the skinlink. After attempting to connect to the slave and getting forwarded to the master, they could either start cracking the drone node, or spoof the drone's Access ID, spoof a command as the drone to de-slave the commlink and crack that separately. (assuming they want inside the commlink, and not it's master)

Hence why it's the same result, but more expensive. The proxy option masks your actual node, and attempting to connect to the proxy is not the same as connecting to the drone. It also prevents the following being an issue until your proxy node is cracked into and home node or AI Access ID traced.

Artificial intelligences all have their own access ID (p.223, SR4A). This access ID is more entrenched in the core of the metasapient’s being than it is in a more mundane device or program.
As a result, it takes longer for an AI to alter its access ID with a Spoof program, as it must alter and rework a part of itself. To spoof its own access ID, it must succeed in an Extended So ware + Spoof (AI’s Rating, 1 day) Test.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

I understand why you're saying it's the same thing for more expense now.  On the other hand, that extra expense accomplishes what I wanted it to do, meaning it makes my drone not as obviously a drone since it isn't broadcasting that it's a drone node for the world to see.

I really don't see what you're saying about proxies.  I read the entry, but I'm just not getting this.  How would it apply in the situation I'm describing?  My AI's home node drone would send his signals to a proxy server somewhere, and then that would send the signals to the drones?  How does slaving and signal encryption work with that?  I do understand what you mean about the access ID part, I'm assuming that I'll be changing my AI's access ID every few days with spoofing.

[Razhul]

The rudimentary problem for you is that you cannot slave anything not directly connected to yourself without wifi. In your example, you said that your AI-Drone has wifi turned off. Unless you have cables or skinlink to peripheral devices, you cannot slave them to you or connect to them directly at all anymore. Meaning, you will not be able to have flying drones slaved to the AI-Drone as long as it is not wireless enabled at the time.

You could slave them to the comlink you are carrying, though, making the drones as hackable as for any other character.

If your concern is to not be seen as a drone (by concealing your home-Drone-AI node, just use a comlink as you described and as any other person would as your main hacker's commlink. For example, my hacker has a comlink in his head. The rest of his body is meat. Your character would have a comlink wherever you choose and the rest of his body is metal. Doesn't matter to the outside as you connect to the rest of the Matrix through that one single main superduper comlink.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

Ah, so it's impossible to do what I described? That's why I asked. I thought being skinlinked to the commlink would let me route the signal to the slaved drones. But that's impossible, I guess.